News

NEW World Cetacea Database

The World Cetacea Database containing all currently accepted scientific names for whales, dolphins and porpoises is now up and running. Visit www.marinespecies.org/cetacea.

The database includes currently accepted names, junior synonyms, new combinations, unjustified emendations, suppressed names, misspellings in print, etc. (total more than 1,500 entries). It is based on Phillip Hershkovitz' classic 1966 Catalog of Living Whales, Wilson and Reeder's Mammal Species of the World (2005 edition), Rice's 1998 Marine Mammals of the World, Jefferson et al.'s Marine Mammals of the World (2008 edition), Perrin et al.'s Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2009 edition), the Mammalian Species series and numerous other sources.

Please let me know of any new descriptions of species or subspecies or any taxonomic or nomenclatural changes or revisions so that I can update the Database quickly.

Acknowledgements: I want to thank previous contributions of Cetacea names to the World Register of Marine Species, coming mainly from ERMS, URMO, NWARMS and RAMS.